Management Consultant

A business strategist and economist with more than 25 years experience in management consulting, business and government. Specialties include Retail Lifecycle Management, supply chain strategy and operations, and business transformation.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Among the important PLM techniques now being applied to restaurant design is rapid visualization of 3D interior spaces and kitchens. The more sophisticated of these tools now incorporate parametric modeling, allowing the designer to build business rules into the design process itself. For example, the designer may require that customer aisles be at least 2 feet wide; that hanging lamps never fall below 7 feet from the floor; and that kitchen equipment never throw off more heat in an area than the HVAC system can handle.

Digital architectural modeling:

Promotes early review of design and functionality by non-technical users of the design process, such as executives from operations, marketing and procurement

Avoids expensive building of prototypes while permitting extensive trial and error